Twilight Beast
by BetweenheavenandHell
Summary: A friend once showed him the Darkness wasn't to be feared, but can he take that lesson to heart?
1. Prologue: Reminents of Twilight

**A/N:** Hi folks, it's been many years since I last writ anything, and to those waiting and hoping still for more chapters to What Dreams May Come/ Someone to Protect/ or any of my other projects, I apologise, you can probably assume them suspended indefinitely as of now.

However, this fic is more or less written already and since it's only short (I'm only planning 4 chapters max), you can rest assured this at least will see its end.

**Summary**: It has been one year to the day since Link defeated Ganondorf and the path between the realms of Twilight and this world were sealed forever by the Princess of the Twili.  
Having returned to his home, Link has had difficulty adjusting to the life of a simple farmer after experiencing the thrill of adventure, and the uneasy stares of those he once called friend, to whom he is now a walking legend.

Troubled and with no one to turn to, Link faces yet another problem. A terrible beast has been spotted roaming the Faron woods late at night, and several livestock have already fallen to its fangs.

The villagers pray it can be caught before it develops a taste for human flesh, but what's to fear with the Hero of Twilight residing in their midst…right?

* * *

**Twilight Beast**

Prologue: Reminents of Twilight

_Soft and golden, the gentle kiss of twilight settled over the land, rendering all sleepy and quiet. Not yet complete night, and in this realm it never would be, it gave one the sense that the world had settled down to rest for a moment…just a moment._

_Of course this was a far cry from the reality of the situation. The lethargic blanket that had been draped over the world was the precursor of a mighty foe, beings that were at home in the shadows and shunned the piercing light of day as they themselves had once been shunned._

_This beautiful sight, regardless of its cause, or the fact that it would soon be lifted, was lost on the one bounding across shadowed plains and in amongst long grass, still as everything else in this place._

_With eyes that saw the world in browns and greys, the towering pines that whipped by on either side blurred into one, the thudding of padded paws on crumbling earth matching the electric beat of his heart, breath ragged and fiery, yet not uncomfortable somehow._

_Oh he'd deny it when not like this, but while he ran, thick, shaggy fur whistling as a slender, powerful form cut through the air with effortless grace, barely hindered by the familiar weight on his back and the rattling band of steel around his foreleg's ankle, he felt alive. _

The slope ahead inclined more steeply and sheaved claws slid out to grip the earth, hauling his frame along against the will of gravity and he felt his companion shift to lie flat along his spine, tiny fingers taking handfuls of the fur that lined his neck. 

"_If I didn't know better", her voice whispered over the wind and the drums, sounding amused, "I'd think you were starting to enjoy yourself"_

_As he snarled in reply she laughed, high and musical but carrying something else, the hint of something darker and yet… not unpleasantly so._

_He finally reached the crest of the hill, cording muscles reversing his momentum and bringing him to a halt at the mound's zenith, and for a moment he simply stood there, panting heavily, the scents of the world around him dancing through his cold wet nose, telling him secrets that his eyes would never have found on their own, and to which his ears were deaf._

"_Hehe, amazing isn't it, the Twilight I mean", his impish cohort mused, her elbows digging into his back as she rest her chin on her hands he supposed._

_He had to admit, it was peaceful here, and if not for the reasons that had brought it, he might even have enjoyed bounding through the near darkness… well, enjoyed it longer and without guilt…_

"_It would be nice to share this, show people that the darkness can be comforting… not that such a thing could ever happen now… one more thing that bastard will have to pay for", there it was again, the wraith behind her words, one he only ever noticed like this, but it would be a long time before he learned the reasons for her anger._

"_Time to move on", the weight on his back vanished, and the beast turned sharply, catching nothing but the sight of his own tail as it wisped around to follow him, a streak of black and white._

_Confusion, panic, anger, all of these things boiled out and up his throat and as he tossed back his head, howled out into the world_.

* * *

Most people wake from nightmares with a scream or a gasp, but for Link, as with most of the exchanges in his life, the entire event crossed his face rather than his lips as crystalline blue eyes snapped open in the near darkness and a sharp intact of air rushed into his lungs. 

Casting his gaze hazily around the room as widened lids drooped once more and the reason he'd woken already fading into a dizzy blur in the back of his mind, Link rolled off of his cot, grunting as his shin hit the wooden floor of his home faster than he's been expecting, hands grasping for weapons that weren't there anymore.

It was a reflex that had saved his life more than once out on the plains of Hyrule when he'd been force to camp in the open grasslands, but one that had become a little redundant in this past year.

Farmers didn't need to be able to slit an enemy's throat before they were even awake enough to know they had after all.

Yawning, the sandy haired boy flexed his hands slowly opened and closed as he willed the adrenaline surging through his system to run its course and winced as his shin throbbed when he stood upright and hobbled toward the balcony.

The first rays of dawn had just begun to peak over the horizon, bright enough that he had to shield his eyes for a moment until they could adjust.

That seemed to take longer now than it had, though his eyes often faired better at night than once they would have.

That had worried him at first, but no doctor could find anything wrong with him and it wasn't as if the sensitivity lasted long.

Of course that wasn't what bothered him. It was another thing that marked him out and he had too many of those already.

When people come across a Hero, it's usually a fleeting thing. The brave knight who strikes down the monster and ushers them to safety and rides off into the sunset before the reality of it hits home, off on his way to slay the next great threat.

It's a lifestyle that doesn't often promote a great deal of socialising, or a very long life for that matter. And regardless of who they once were, a Hero is defined by their actions.

Resting his arms against the rough railing that ran the span of his tree dwelling homestead, Link stared listlessly out across the village below.

These people had known him since he was a boy, all helped raise him at one point or another, being an orphan. Friends and family, every one of them, or so he'd thought.

But take a young farmhand, pit him against the most malicious evil ever to stalk the world in a titanic clash of powers and worse yet, have him not only win but survive to return to his village, and people no longer knew what was expected of them.

He remembered that his closest friend had actually once bowed to him like he was one of the Queens knight just passing through, and that was the tip of the iceberg.

He'd seen combat, and it showed in his eyes, the once warm blue pools colder and sharper than once they'd been, and he'd been disturbed to hear that some people thought they actually glowed in the right light, though he'd never been able to confirm that.

Even Ilia had kept her distance after a while, refusing to meet his gaze too long and avoiding looking at the faint gold tattoo that stained the back of his right hand entirely.

Link had noticed an improvement in the villages attitude after he stowed away the so called Hero's Clothes the Spirits of Light had given him for his journey and returned the Master Sword to its pedestal as had been Zelda's final request to him when he declined her invite to join her Guard.

The young man winced as something pricked his palms and he was surprised to see he had been gripping the banister hard enough to crack the aging wood and drive the splinters into his own flesh.

That was something else that had troubled him since his return. The anger he had felt toward Zant who kidnapped his friends, toward Ganondorf who turned Zelda into a puppet and nearly killed Midna. It hadn't faded when the curse on him had been broken and his enemies slain, it was still there, slinking around beneath the surface.

His 'inner shadow', as Midna had once referred to it, was still very much alive.

Wandering back into the house and dressing in the comfortable clothes he had worn most of his life in one form or another he paused before the small chest that sat at the foot of his cot, letting one hand brush across its surface.

"…"

Inside was the only thing that remained from the Twilight invasion, the tiny item that was a relic of the curse cast on him by Zant, the dark magic forced from his body and sealed inside the black and red crystal by the Master Sword.

He'd been told by the Princess of the Twili, restored to her true form before she left, that without someone strong in Shadow magic to use it, the item would never again allow him to access his other form; the one that existed in Twilight.

But it was still there… he could feel it, the blue eyed beast, wanting out, wanting to taste the freedom of the open air once again…

And sometimes, he wanted to let it.

* * *

"How many does that make?", the old man asked, his thick arms and rigid moustache- like two small rams horns beneath his nose- both twitching. 

"Bout three I reckon", the younger man replied, his thick accent and large frame belying his gentle nature, one that was very upset by what had just happened and it showed in his voice.

Bo let loose a long breathe, rubbing his eyes with stiff fingers thick with calluses from many hard years work in unforgiving weather.

At their feet lay the ravaged carcass of what was once one of their villages prized rams, the blood still pooling sluggishly out of the cavity that had housed its guts and from the section of its throat that had been torn away.

"This doesn't figure good for us… go get Russel, we need to catch this thing before it kills any more of our livestock", Bo ground out resolutely.

"… What bout Link?", the young Shepard asked warily.

"… Bring him too, we need all the help we can get".


	2. Chapter 1: Beast

**A/N:** Told you this would progress smoothly. Another short chapter, but they'll all be pretty brief since htis is essentially a one shot idea that had more distinct divides than I first anticipated when I began planning it. Anyway, enough of my waffling, enjoy, and if you stick around till the conclusion of the story you'll get to see what inspired this ficlet.

Chapter One: Beast

Link shouldered his way through the growing crowd, murmuring apologies and adverting his gaze when one of the villagers noticed who was trying to come through and scrabbled back to make room.

"Now now, settle down the lot of you", Bo's bass rumble was coming from over the heads of the people in front though he was soon in sight. There weren't exactly a lot of people in Ordon after all, even with the newcomers they'd had.

He nodded briefly to Ilia where she stood next to her father and felt a little better that she didn't pretend not to notice and returned his greeting.

"Ah, there you are lad, just the man, head inside, be with you in a bit", the heavy set man said with a jerk f his head toward the door, returning his attention to the villagers as Ilia ushered Link inside, the heavy oak doors shutting off whatever he had been about to say as she closed them behind the pair.

"Sorry about that, Dad's busy trying to reassure everyone he has everything in hand", the soft spoken girl said with a faint and fond smile.

"Takes more than it used to ever since…", she trailed off, her eyes seeming to go back to another time, viewing events past.

"Since the Boblins", Link finished for her, his own experiences during and soon after that time flashing by in a kaleidoscope of jumbled images and feelings. Fear, confusion, awe, wonder, companionship…

"Yeah…", she sighed, shaking herself roughly. In time Ilia's memories of what had happened had returned, though there were some parts she had told him before they stopped talking, that she would have preferred not to remember.

"And that damn wolf they left behind to terrorise us, snooping round the village in the dead of night", Bo spat, closing the door behind him, the village square, now devoid of its occupants, visible for just a second.

Ilia lay a comforting hand on her father's arm as Link stared impassively around the room, though he'd seen it a thousand times before.

He'd never told anyone about his transformations, there hadn't been time. What with defeating Zant and his minions, finding the pieces of the Fused Shadow and the Twilight Mirror for Midna to aid them in their quest and of course, rescuing Zelda from Ganondorf.

Even when it was done and he'd gone home with the others he hadn't really felt like ruining the atmosphere by telling everyone about something he couldn't even do anymore, and by the time things had settled at last, the reluctant warrior had come to realise that talking of his own brush with Shadow magic was unlikely to go over well and that invisible distance he now knew existed had begun to form.

He sometimes wondered how they'd react to the idea that something born from the Twilight had actually helped save them.

"All water under the bridge", Link started, thinking for a moment Bo was talking about him until he remembered Ilia was standing there too.

"Now then, to business, need your help with something on the ranch", Bo's words lifted Link's heart for a moment as he wondered what it might be, his imagination turning up a thousand possibilities, mundane to the outsider, but precious to him.

The older man's next words brought all of that to a screeching halt however.

"Gotta warn you though… ain't pretty, but I doubt that'll be a problem for you huh my boy", a warm laugh, sounding a tad forced and a stout pat on the back accompanied that sentiment.

Link opened his mouth wanting to protest, but the words died before they were spoken.

Compared to the things he's seen, nothing Bo could show him would affect him much.

Nodding silently, the short boy followed the village head out of the hut and up the steep path to the ranch.

* * *

The path to the ranch was hard earth, packed down by many years and many hooves as well as the occasional sturdy boot. As with any farm, the ground and the air were alive with scents, some pleasant, some... not so pleasant, but all the signs of something breathing and dynamic.

However, there was also something else in the air that day. Something hot and metallic that set Links nerves on fire and ground his teeth together, enamel scrapping enamel.

Blood had been spilled here.

Quickly, he replayed the scene outside Bo's hut. He hadn't noticed anyone missing from those gathered.

As they got closer, close enough to hear the scared bleating of the rams as they stomped around in their stalls, something else hit Link.

It started off as a faint itch in his nose that migrated to a pulsing tickle at the back of his throat that he couldn't seem to clear, his rough coughs drawing Bo's attention until he waved away the bald man's concern.

Whatever it was it was getting thicker and by the time they reached the gates it felt like someone had stuffed wool behind his eyes.

He was dimly aware of Bo calling out to someone, another man with wavy brown hair tinged with signs of grey that betrayed his years, and a thick moustache, though it took a moment to remember his name.

Inside, something stirred, as if it were taking great snorts with wide nostrils, testing the air for the source of this sensation.

Russel laughed, the warm comforting laugh that Link had liked so much in his youth, the laugh he'd often heard in his training and sometimes thought must be the sound only a father could make.

The blood smell was getting stronger too, and things started to change, colours inverting momentarily, objects changing size. Suddenly everything was black and white and the former Hero's stomach jumped as if he was falling, his vision tunnelling and all he knew was the blood and the thing it belonged to.

The swelling in his head seemed to be getting stronger, and the thing in his chest more restless, and then, everything changed.

* * *

_Cries, cries of pain… her pain._

_It was hard to open his eyes, the black magic still raged through his body, his new form tired after the change, so much pain, muscles bulging and contorting unnaturally, joints snapping and reversing._

Agony.

_There was a thud, something small and with a scent he knew very well striking the ground with enough force to expel all the air from her small frame_.

Adrenaline.

_His head was clearing and he could see her now, lying barely moving as the tall figure stood over her, gesturing with long flowing sleeves, his voice echoing inhumanly from within his helmet, but the words meant nothing._

Instinct.

Bite, rip, tear, rend the flesh and taste the blood, _these were the thoughts going through his mind now_, tooth and claw, use it all, don't stop till the inside comes out, destroy the one who hurts the pack.

_Muscles bunch, regaining strength as his rage crested, giving him back his feet and growl, low and dangerous peeling back blackened gums as eyes narrowed over slit like irises of a terribly clear blue._

_The beast knew exactly what had to be done; he wouldn't freeze like he had before._

_He leapt.

* * *

_

"…ink?", a voice seemed to be calling him from far away.

"Link?", this time it was coupled with a firm hand that grasped his shoulder and his mind snapped back to reality.

Crouching low, Link found his hand over the wrist of the one on his shoulder and his other full of the other man's shirt before rational thought was able to register Bo's face, the older man's expression sliding from concerned to surprised to terrified as Link felt his lips pull back over his teeth for a moment.

For a frozen heartbeat they stood there, neither man moving a muscle, unsure as to what the other would do.

"Easy there fellas", Russel's fatherly tone cut into the tension and like a bubble pricked with a pin it burst, Link suddenly feeling very foolish and self-conscious as he released the village chief with a quiet apology, his head dropping a little as the older men stepped to one side.

The sandy-haired boy couldn't help but noticed that Russel had moved them just outside of the radius a grown man could swing a sword; though none of them were armed it still felt like an accurate reading.

_Dangerous _

Link had heard himself described as such in some of the whispered conversations that took part around the village. People murmuring in shadows corners they thought his keen eyes and ears couldn't reach.

Looking down upon the husk of the former herbivore, the blue-eyed warrior felt his fist tense at his side.

Things had never felt this out of control before he had entered the shadows to save his friends…

_Though I met a new one there…_

"That's the third one so far", Bo's voice interjected into his train of thought and he glanced sideways at the older man, nodding wordlessly for him to continue when he paused, swallowing and shifting as he met the shorter man's eyes.

"Couple of the kids say they saw somethin' prowling round in the trees a few nights back, just after that big storm. Big thing, all black and hairy, big teeth and yellow eyes they're sayin'", Bo grunted and glanced around the meadow, beady eyes showing anger for a moment, " Wouldn't have put much stock in it if it hadn't killed my animals, and the new hand I hired from the lot that came back with you says he say it runnin' off into the trees after it got the last one. Needs to be stopped before it kills anymore, or worse".

The implied threat was obvious, and those gathered nodded, various sounds of approval rumbling forth from all but the quietest member.

"Things ripped up my rams good, don't want it doin' the same to the little ones"

Link frowned, as something in his gut twisted and rebelled against the village head's words. He couldn't explain it, but something about that idea just didn't feel right. It was as if something crucial had been misunderstood.

Again his eyes were drawn to the ram, or what was left of it.

The actions that had ended it's life were obviously powerful, viscous, the product of a raw animal strength, something that he knew should have scared him on some basic human level and yet he felt no terror, no hate or desire for vengeance.

As a boy, one of the lambs he'd been helping a much younger Bo look after alongside Ilia, had been trampled to death when Ilia's fowl, Epona had panicked the first time they tried to take her out of the ranch, her resultant dash around the paddock scaring the docile rams into a full blown stampede.

Both he and Ilia had cried for days.

Had he seen so much evil, so much death that he no longer felt anything? Or was it something else, something to do with that tickling sensation at the back of his throat he'd felt when he walked onto the ranch perhaps, the one that had triggered his memory even before he saw the dead ram.

Whatever it was, it refused to go away, but the others expressions seemed to have set their course in this matter, so Link held his peace.

He could explore his discomfort later.

Where they stood, Bo and Russel were discussing their plan of action, where to lay the traps Bo had dug out of his cellar and where each of them would be positioned to watch for the beast when it returned.

The wind carried a faint whisper to his ears and Link turned slowly as his chest tightened, the markings on the hand he had gripped it with without realising glinting golden in the sunlight for a brief instance as he felt the stirring again.

His eyes ran across the tree line and for an instance he felt as if something was looking back and measuring him, something with yellows eyes and large teeth. And then it was gone, and all was silent, inside and out.


	3. Chapter 2: Instinct

**A/N: **One chapter to go after this, the ending may seem a tad, 'bleh' but all will be explained in full in the epilogue

Chapter two: Instinct

Blue eyes watched the flickering embers cast out by the campfire drift lazily through the cold night air. Though short lived, they flared brilliantly as they caught the breeze, right up until they hit the ground and faded without protest.

Technically speaking, it was bad form for a watchman to stare into his fire, as it was common knowledge that doing such a thing would rapidly destroy one's night vision. Then again, most people didn't have eyes like his.

Squatting next to the warmth the fire provided, Link ran the sharpening stone along the edge of his blade once more, the grating whisper and familiar action comforting.

Unlike the Master Sword, the one he currently held, with its plain cross-guard, sturdy blade, and leather bound pommel, needed constant upkeep and training to use efficiently, and link was aware that every fraction of a slither of a gram in steel he shaved off would effect his strokes in a way to few swordsmen ever considered.

Russel had taught him well.

Raising the sword up to the light, he blew gently over its surface, clearing away the shavings and running one eye over the edge looking for the sharp glint of new metal before bothering to test it with a leaf.

Razor edged and waiting to strike, not a bad comparison to its owner.

Setting the sword down just within easy reach Link let his sense probe out into the darkened woodland around him, detecting nothing out of place with either his eyes as the adjusted rapidly to the gloom outside of the firelight, or with his ears. Just the usual array of nocturnal noises; no padded footfalls or slobbering breath to disturb the peace.

To his right, somewhere just out of range of the fires glow, was the trap, a large steel contraption shaped like the metal maw of some cunning predator, a fresh hunk of meat draped around the catch mechanism that would set the device off if one tried to remove the bait without releasing the catch first.

Operating under the assumption that this creature would avoid the fires, Bo had placed himself, Russel and Link around the perimeter of the ranch, each man armed just in case, and several of the traps Bo had setup placed around the spaces between the watch-points.

In theory, the beast would either shy from the bright lights, seeming a night time predator, and thus be caught in one of the steel-toothed devices that lurked in the underbrush.

And if it attempted to break through the watch-points instead, it would come face to face with men trained and experienced in fighting.

Link frowned distastefully in the direction of the traps, brooding features darkening over with some unnamed emotion.

Even though he'd helped to set some of those traps, he still felt that something about this whole thing was off, the same sense of discomfort that had plagued him earlier that day back in force, and the hours in between hadn't yielded a solution to it.

Frustrations gushing out in one long breath, the sandy-haired boy tugged absently at the gauntlets he'd donned for the first time in months, the red dyed leather out of place with his farmers attire, but he felt more comfortable using a sword while wearing them.

Minutes seemed to drag on like hours and still the forest was quiet and peaceful and Link took to pacing the fire irritably.

Were they wasting their time? Was that what his feelings of misgiving had been about?

Link sneeze violently, backing away from the fire as a plumb of smoke wafted into his face, shaking his head to clear it… but the sensation didn't vanish.

The itching at the back of his nose, the tickle already building in his throat remained steadfast and as he moved swiftly around the fire to his weapon, booted foot scooping under the blade and a flex of muscle kicking it into the air where its pommel met his waiting hand.

Settling low, his sword extended diagonally across his body, rising from pommel to tip and his free hand held back from his body for counterbalance, the warrior could feel the eyes on him once more.

Yellow eyes that saw him in the darkness just as clearly as the light of day and would have even without the fire silhouetting his form.

Link's eyes once more quested through the gloom, his ears pricked, waiting for any sign of four legs making a path through the woods.

His pulse raced and beat in his ears, but he felt calm, detached from the sensation, just waiting for that one sound…

It came, but not as the snarl in the darkness, the crack of a twig under claw, or the near silent thump of something coiled leaping, but as the clear ringing of metal on metal and a spring released from its duties.

The traps.

Taking off into the undergrowth, he moved on impulse, ducking and pivoting around dangling indistinct in the lack of light, and leaping fallen logs seconds before crashing into them as he raced toward his quarry.

The sound of the trap had been close, it shouldn't have taken lng to reach it but it felt like an eternity.

Breaking through the final barrier of tall grass, Link came out at the edge of the small clearing that held the device he was sure had been triggered, and indeed, as the moonlight filtered in through the foliage overhead, he could see the trap, it's teeth clenched around empty air.

At first he wondered if the aged contraption had simply gone of accidentally, but after crouch to examine it, he could make out the absence of the bait.

Something had triggered this trap, but had been smart enough or fast enough to escape being caught.

That was not the part that disturbed him however. The part that worried him was that he felt relieved that the creature had not been caught like this, though he could not explain why.

A heavy, clumsy crashing somewhere ahead told him that Bo had heard the trap go off also and was wading his heavy bulk through the dense woodland with all the limited grace it could muster to investigate.

Link shook his head. With all that noise this beast would be long…

Slowly it dawned on him. The feeling of being watched that he'd felt back by the fire, it had never faded, he'd simply been caught up in the moment and stopped taking notice of it.

Staying as still as possible, he rotated his head slowly right, then left an number of times before he caught it.

Moonlight glinting off eyes too rich to be yellow, better described as amber and glistening along the fatty deposits in the prize it carried, the shaggy, hunched form of the beast stared back from the shadows, a low growl parting its lips, fangs yellowed but large seeming to appear beneath the eyes that hovered in the darkness.

Link didn't move, barely breathed as he continued to lock gazes with the creature that had been killing the village's livestock.

An exchange seemed to take place, a clash of wills that had nothing to do with the physical world as solid amber met crystal blue, and though his human heart rattled around his chest in alarm, the cold clarity of his mind remained just as it always had in battle, and the thing inside roared a challenge to the one that waited outside.

The beast growled at him, a trembling sound that seemed to be telling him not to come closer and suddenly it broke contact, its furry bulk slipping away into the woods.

Barely hesitating as it vanished, Link was back on his feet, his sword shining as he took off in pursuit, ears deaf to Bo's shouts as he finally made it to the clearing, calling for him to wait, to not go alone into the night.

The chill night air scrapped against the former Hero's cheeks as he ran, tingeing sun-kissed skin a light pink where it was exposed to the open air, and thick hair bounced, swinging into his eyes every other step but somehow it didn't matter. With the thing inside guiding he knew exactly where he was going even if his eyes couldn't penetrate the blanket of night.

He ran until the air in his lungs began to burn, during to mist as he expelled it, and only dimly did it occur to him that he was charging half blind through a forest in the dead of night toward a monster he couldn't even seen in such conditions.

Even an experienced warrior should have felt some concern at this point and yet something was telling him he had nothing to fear.

Ahead he could just make out the beast as it cut across a patch exposed to the light, zigging back and forth across trails that only it knew, moving effortlessly over the changing terrain, and the blue eyed boy felt the urge to laugh as he followed.

Leaping to avoid an extended tree root, Link crossed his arms over his face to protected it from the lowest branches that hung down like scratching fingers and burst into sudden light.

For a moment he was soaring through the air unfettered, wild and free and then gravity reclaimed him. Only, the ground was no longer where he had expected, a rocky hill sloping down into a small clearing below.

Landing poorly, he let out a cry of pain as his ankle wrenched in a direction he knew it wasn't supposed to go and he tumbled head over heels, sharp outcroppings of stone grazing his back and arms, jarring his sword from his grasp and opening cuts along his face as it clattered away in another direction. On he fell, until momentum deposited him roughly at the base of the slope.

For the longest time, he lay there, gasping for air and wincing as his body protested his attempts to make it move, though thankfully nothing seemed to be broken.

His eyes focused slowly, the blinding pain at the back of his head making it difficult at first but eventually he could see clearly once more, the faint light helping him make out the shape of the creature he had been chasing standing only a few feet away.

As its fangs barred at him once again, Link braced himself, willing up the strength to fight it off unarmed and prepared for an attack that never came.

With a faint snort the beast shook its head and trotted away, the hunk of meat it had liberated from Bo's trap bouncing along in its mouth.

Uncertainly, Link managed to force his way to his knees, surprise sliding across his face as the beast walked under the full moonlight, it obviously canine body suddenly very visible as it cast a quick glance and a warning growl back at him and came to a halt.

As the wind shifted the branches of the spares trees, the warrior was able to see what the bea- no, what the _wolf_ was doing.

Beneath the fallen branch of old oak, lay another wolf, this one smaller than the other, less muscular in appearance.

Female.

Dropping the slab of raw flesh down in front of the other, the first nuzzled its companion until it stirred, awkwardly chewing on the proffered nourishment, the pair keening and yapping at one another.

The tree against which the smaller one was trapped must have been damaged in the storm several nights ago, dropping one of it's branches down on top of the unfortunate creature.

That would explain why the larger male had suddenly begun raiding Ordon's livestock, it needed food to keep its companion alive and couldn't afford to venture too far away in dangerous woods like this, nor could it drag the whole body back with it.

Links gut clenched as he realised what would have happened if he'd killed this one, or if the others had succeeded in trapping it. Two lives would have been extinguished because of the all too human fear of things that lived in the dark.

Rising, the sandy-haired boy made his way cautiously forward, raising his hands and pausing when the larger wolf snarled at him and lowered itself, ready to pounce if he came any closer.

Link locked eyes with it once more, willing it to understand that he meant no harm, projecting friendship into his expression, or so he hoped.

Stepping closer, one foot at a time and ever so slowly, link kept the beast's gaze as he finally reached the pair, crouching and placing his hands on the branch.

The male snarled again, barking, it's claws sliding out as its fur began to bristle, standing on end all over its body and making it suddenly seem twice the size it had a moment ago.

Swallowing heavily but maintaining his eye contact and getting a firm grip, Link pulled, the surprisingly heavy branch creaking as he lifted it upward, the creature trapped below scrambling out of the way as the pressure on its hind quarters was released.

Dropping the branch, the former Hero backed away rapidly, giving them space as the two wolves circled one another, sniffing, nuzzling and licking to reassure each other that both were unharmed and free.

Link felt a small smile tug at the corners of his mouth as they yipped excitedly, looking back over his shoulder as he heard something; human voices coming this way and fast.

If Bo and Russel came across them, they would insist on killing both creatures, refusing to believe they were no longer a threat.

They would never understand.

"Go", he whispered as the larger of the pair looked up at the sound also and for a moment as their eyes met, he was convinced he saw gratitude there before they both wheeled about and sprang away into the forest.


	4. Epilogue: Twilight Heart

**A/N**: I may have discovered the flaw in writting things out ahead of time, I simply don't have the patience to space out chapter updates xD

Epilogue: Twilight Heart 

"So it's true, you're leaving then", a quiet voice called as Link dropped the rest of the way to the ground from where he hung. The last few feet of the ladder that led up to his house seeming to disappear faster than usual, as if gravity itself were eager to speed him on his way.

Though more likely it had something to do with the very full saddlebags he had slung over one shoulder.

Hitting ground with a grunt, and bending his knees to absorb the tremors that ran up his shins, the blue-eyed boy turned to regard his visitor as he strode over to where Epona waited. The rust coloured mare whinnied and stamped her hooves impatiently as he threw the bags over the back of her saddle, securing them under her belly with thick leather straps.

Link smiled and patted her mane, whispering quiet words to the horse to sooth her.

"She's like that because you don't exercise her properly you know", Ilia spoke again, a slither of the gentle affection he remembered hiccupping in her voice.

"…", the sandy-haired hero kept working, checking fastenings, opening bags and rifling through the contents and shifting in clothes he hadn't worn for far too long, trying to remember the best way to set the light chain mail beneath the tough green stitch work so that it didn't bunch.

"… What happened Link, what changed? Was it us, the village?", the setting sun cast lengthening shadows that hid her face as she spoke, even from his eyes.

"…No", he breathed at last, the generally inarticulate young man struggling to convey the complexity of the realisation he'd had out in the woods the previous night, waiting for Russel and Bo to find him.

Misunderstanding. That was the crux of the matter. They'd attributed malicious intent to something that was simply trying to survive, and help another do the same, because it was a creature that moved freely in a world where they were restricted.

He'd done something similar, tried to force the thing inside, the inner shadow, to live in the world of light, denied who and what he was for far too long, and refused to give voice to the anger that sparked in his true nature.

The events of the year past hadn't given birth to this anger, hadn't changed him, they'd given him a place, and the freedom to express it, to use it to make himself stronger and protect those dear to him.

And when he'd tried to force the shadow back inside, to restrict himself to a world that had never truly suited him, the anger returned, but stronger, closer to the surface.

The blue-eyed beast wanting to tear across the plains unhindered once again, to be what it was meant to be.

It wasn't to be feared, it wasn't to be repressed, it was as much a part of him as anything else, and that's why he was leaving.

He would always hold this village dear in his heart, and those therein, so to express his gratitude, he would leave them in peace, safe in the light he'd help restore to the world.

As the wind whistled through the grass in the fading light of day, Link though for an instant, he heard a distant giggle rise from the shadows, one strong and fond.

Against his chest, hidden by his tunic, a small black crystal clinked against tiny white links of steel, rattling for a moment on its cord, much like a band of steel had once rattled as its barer had torn across the land.

"This is the right choice" he murmured, piercing blue eyes turning back over his shoulder to regard Ilia, the slight wisp of a girl now just another shadow.

Climbing up onto Epona and swinging his feet into the stirrups, the sun, now just a blazing red ball clinging to the horizon at his back, Link set off.

"_Time to move on wolf-boy"_, a playful voice whispered in his ear and he smiled at the memory, his heart beating strong as he heeled Epona into a light trot.

The woods gave way to forest, the forest to open grasslands as far as the eye could see, the towering mountains that the Goron's called home rising up in the distance like stone fingertips grasping for the very heavens themselves.

As he and Epona raced over the plains, the wind threatening to steal his cap and tugging at his hair, link let out a peel of laughter, clear and loud as they whipped by thickets and across small streams, the spray catching his boots and streaming behind them in a liquid trail.

For the first time in over a year, the former hero felt at peace, even as his blood raced, and the wind and the drums wailed in his ears.

He was home at last, and perhaps, he thought as the gentle kiss of day's last light stretched out over the land and the shadows came out; dancing with the fading sun for the briefest of times, he would find a friend once more.

In the twilight.

* * *

A/N: Now, as promised,a little bonus, the source of my inspiration to begin this ficlet[will insert youtube link to TP: Animal Link has Become music video on youtube when the site actually works again 


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